Drinking cups with lids are commonly used by children for the dispensing of a beverage. These types of cups usually employ a valve arrangement that prevents the beverage from being dispensed from the drinking cup if the cup is turned upside down or dropped by the child. One or more valves are incorporated into a flow control element that can be attached and detached from the bottom of the lid of the drinking cup. The flow control element can be removed from the lid to allow the drinking cup to be more thoroughly cleaned.
The flow control element includes side walls that are straight that frictionally engage corresponding straight side walls of the lid. Although capable of effecting an attachment of these components, forces imparted onto the drinking cup may be sufficient to dislodge the flow control element from the lid thus allowing beverage to leak inadvertently from the drinking cup. For example, if the child drops the drinking cup the flow control element may become disengaged from the lid thus allowing beverage to flow from the drinking cup without being contained by the valve of the flow control element.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.